


In bloom

by autumnsolstice9



Series: Justice [13]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 07:56:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18069554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: When Sakura looks back up, Hinata’s face has softened, angelic roundness, something Sakura can’t describe making her glow.It is a moment, and then like a sakura flower it is gone.Or: the aftermath.





	In bloom

Tsunade and Naruto leave the compound, and Sakura holds her breath when she catches a glimpse of the look on her friend’s face. Standing with a stony visage, blue eyes swimming with conflict, fists clenched is Naruto, and it’s so unlike the hero that she immediately knows whatever he saw in the Hyuuga compound, it wasn’t pretty.

“What happened?” she asks, Sasuke a silent shadow next to her, undoubtedly wondering the same thing. She saw the way he refused to even glimpse inside the compound, his fingers twitching by his side even though his face remained serene. A compound under attack likely by one of its own- the memory of the Uchiha massacre lurks over Konoha, and Sakura knows that Sasuke can face many things in life but the memory of his dead family is not one of them.

Tsunade drags them away to the Hokage Tower, sending her guards away and locking team seven in her office with her. She pours a cup of sake with practiced ease and quickly downs it, and Sakura can feel dread settle into her stomach. Whatever happened, it was serious.

“The Hyuuga council and Hiashi-sama are dead,” Tsunade says, her gaze cutting into each of them. Sakura cannot stifle her gasp. “Hinata killed them and is, most likely, the new clan head.” Her honey eyes flicker to where Naruto stands, eyes unseeing.

“A coup,” Sasuke mutters, the lightest trace of surprise in his tone. “Hinata threw a coup.”

He sounds impressed, but Naruto, apparently, does not feel the same way. “She killed her father,” he bites out, jaw tight.

And there lies the problem: she killed her father. Sakura knows she does not understand the situation completely, but she has seen the way Kiba visibly bristles at the mention of his name, or how Kurenai would glare daggers at the head of the Hyuuga whenever they were all called to a meeting. She does not know the situation, but she knows Hinata used to be scared of her own voice and that she left the village not because she wanted to, but to escape imprisonment that her father would put on her. She remembers Neji lashing out at his cousin the moment he was given a chance, his words acidic in the confines of his own clan, and how it changed over years, growing soft and protective with Hinata around.

She asked Tenten once, why he changed his feelings towards Hinata, to which the weapons expert shrugged, saying she didn’t know, Hyuuga affairs are private. It was Gai-sensei who overheard and flashed them a bright smile. “The young heiress has a bright future ahead of her! She is full of youth and our dear Neji sees that!”

Sometimes Sakura wonders if all those graced by Hinata’s presence knew that she would one day be the bringer of change that so many desperately dreamed of. All the sensei’s were strangely devoted to Hinata, in their own ways, and she had assumed it was because the young Hyuuga, despite being a ruthless fighter who worked harder than most of their age group, had amazingly low self-confidence. Now, she wonders if they looked at her and saw the future.

No, Sakura does not understand the situation completely, but she knows Hiashi Hyuuga was not a good man, and that Hinata holds the hope of the Hyuuga in her calloused hands. The head of the Hyuuga will likely not be grievously mourned by those who knew him.

She looks at Naruto in his mix of anger and confusion and undeniable grief and speaks up. “She killed her father. She overthrew the Hyuuga leaders. She did what she set out to do. What happens now?”

“Now,” Tsunade says, drawing Sakura’s attention back towards her, “She sees the council.”

Sakura watches Naruto struggle over Hinata’s actions, as he briskly walks out of Tsunade’s office, and calmly walks out after him.

***

No one hears from the Hyuuga clan the next morning. The village is in shock, everyone on edge over what has occurred. Hiashi was not well-loved, but he was powerful. Hinata has upset the balance of the village, her name travelling between every gossipy tongue that passes through Konoha.

Sakura hears every one of them: _I never would have expected this, you know what they say about the quiet ones, I heard she murdered him in his sleep, I heard she forced the rest of the clan to crown her, I heard she’s a monster._

It makes her grit her teeth to hear Hinata’s name dragged through the mud. Even Sasuke seems bewildered. “She’s dangerous,” he tells Sakura when they pass each other on the street.

“Hinata would never hurt someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Sakura spits at him, vitriol in her words. 

Sasuke raises a hand, placating, and thins his lips. “That doesn’t make her any less dangerous. Do you know her, Sakura? Do you know her limits, where she’ll draw the line?”

“What, like you know her?” she shoots back, even as nausea settles deep into her stomach and her gut churns as she thinks the question over.

He looks at her, his gaze full of unfathomable visions, and moved his hand toward her shoulder before letting it fall away. “Clan politics never end well,” he murmurs, turning away to head back towards his empty, dead, compound.

Her stomach never settles.

***

It is inevitable that Hinata face the council. Sakura is the one who delivers the message to the compound, wary as she approaches the walls that separate her from the secret world of the Hyuuga.

Hinata is waiting for her when the gate opens. There is a hollowness that has carved its way onto her face, bags under her eyes, Neji and Hanabi flanking her sides. Hinata stands tall, like a museum statue, scrubbed clean and admired but forbidden to touch.

“Sakura-chan,” Hinata says, nodding her head in respect, a smile playing on her lips. It is familiar, but feels out of place.

She wonders how long it took Hinata to blossom when she was on her journey, she wonders who gave her the nutrients she needed to grow, she wonders how much she actually knows about Hinata. When Hinata left, it felt like a stab to the chest. Unprecedented. When Hinata came charging back, killing her father, her elders, it felt like needles. She is not upset that they are dead, understands that sometimes people need to die, but she never thought Hinata would be the executioner.

She looks at Hinata’s eyes, glowing like pearls, and in them she sees a reflection of herself.

“The Hokage demands your presence with the council immediately,” Sakura says, handing over a scroll.

Hanabi visibly tenses, Neji’s brow furrows, and Hinata calmly takes the scroll. She reads it and passes it to Neji, closing her eyes and turning her face towards the sun. 

“The sakura will bloom soon, won’t they?” she asks, opening her eyes, staring both at Sakura and somewhere miles away. “Yes, I can see some of the blossoms now.” Neji and Hanabi move behind her, discussing the contents of the scroll. Hinata steps forward, heading towards the exit to the compound, Sakura turning to walk with her.

“It’s a shame the flowers don’t stay longer,” Sakura says as they leave the compound, Neji and Hanabi trailing behind.

“I like to press flowers,” Hinata replies, quiet, her head held high even as people wandering the village openly stare and whisper. “Sakura flowers are a symbol of change, and they come and go.”

“They never stay,” Sakura answers, her gaze stuck on the roundness of Hinata’s cheeks.

“Ah, but we can preserve them. We can break the cycle, even if it is just one flower.”

They spend the rest of the walk in silence, Hinata never faltering in her steps. When they reach the Hokage tower, Neji and Hanabi wait outside as Sakura leads her through. They finally end up at the council chamber doors, and Sakura grabs Hinata’s arm before she can walk in.

“What happens now? What about Naruto? What about me? What happens, Hinata?”

For a moment, Sakura can see through the mask Hinata wears. She can see the weariness, the anger, the devotion, the depression, the uncertainty. For a moment, Hinata lets Sakura see her, and it leaves her chilled.

“I don’t know, Sakura,” Hinata murmurs.

She can see the fear in Hinata’s eyes, and Sakura suddenly feels tears prick her vision. She looks down and twines her fingers with Hinata’s, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles. She thinks of sakura flowers blooming and falling, of the inevitability of the cycle. She thinks of preservation, of broken cycles and the balance of nature.

When Sakura looks back up, Hinata’s face has softened, angelic roundness, something Sakura can’t describe making her glow.

It is a moment, and then like a sakura flower it is gone. Hinata removes her hand from Sakura’s and takes a deep breath, her mask falling back into place, and turns towards the chamber doors, pushing the forward, leaving Sakura on the other side.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this took so long to put up! I've been busy with school


End file.
